What is an appraisal?
An appraisal is an estimated fair market value of a specified property.

What are Appraiser qualifications?
There are many requirements to complete prior to becoming an appraiser including time, experience and educational prerequisites.  Each state has specific requirements to become a licensed or certified appraiser.  Once an appraiser is registered with the state, they are required to take continuing education classes in order to maintain their license status.

Why would I need an appraisal?
There are many reasons that you may need to obtain an appraisal.  The most common purpose for an appraisal is to obtain or refinance a mortgage on a home. Other reasons include Private Mortgage Insurance removal, estate planning, pre-sale planning, relocation, tax and insurance purposes.  When considering selling your home, an appraisal would be helpful in helping you to determine an estimated market value prior to listing it for sale.  This can be especially helpful to help establish a reasonable listing price, especially in today’s market.

Why do I need a prelisting appraisal? 
A prelisting appraisal will help you set a realistic selling price so your home will attract buyers. An appraisal can also be a valuable negotiating tool once you have a potential buyer. It provides written proof of your home's condition and can make you aware of any problems and eliminate last-minute repair hassles that might delay a closing. An appraisal helps justify the asking price and can alleviate buyers' fears.

What is the difference between an appraisal and a CMA?
A Comparative Market Analysis is typically prepared by a Realtor to use for listing a property for sale.  It is based on comparative listings and sales in the subject's market area.  The appraisal relies on specific, verifiable comparable sales in addition to other data. The appraisal is created by a state certified professional appraiser who is an objective third party, with no vested interest in the value of a home. The appraisal will serve as a value conclusion in many situations and is based on state requirements.  The real estate agent is not unbiased, the CMA generally can not be used for any transaction and is typically not well supported.